Extreme Ghostbusters Virtual Season Episode 4 - Mother's Nature
by J-R Virtual Seasons
Summary: February 1998: A demon appears at Grand Central Station and starts making off with children. Mayor McShane attempts to reassure an anxious public, and may once again have to put aside his personal feelings about the Ghostbusters. This time, however, his assistant Jensen is watching the team's every move.
1. Chapter 1

A woman and her small daughter were alighting from a train at Grand Central Station. The mother checked to see they had all of their luggage, then turned round and realised that the child had vanished. She looked frantically about her, then reached out and grabbed a small hand that had almost disappeared into the crowd.

'Livvy!' she said. 'Stop getting lost!'

'Sorry, Mommy,' the child said, with a gap-toothed smile.

'Just keep hold of my hand, honey, okay? Now, we'd better go find your fath–'

She was cut off as the sound of dozens of people screaming filled the air. A moment later, she found herself being pushed and buffeted by stampeding rail passengers, and so she let go of all her luggage and stooped to lift Livvy into her arms. She was holding tightly onto the child when the source of all the commotion came into view: a sharp-toothed woman in a long, flowing dress, flying overhead and screaming like a banshee.

Everyone was running for the exits, while the banshee-like woman flew round and round and kept on screaming. Then suddenly she stopped moving and she stopped screaming, and her eyes homed in on something. It was Livvy. The little girl was clinging to her mother's neck, keeping her head down and her face buried as they were knocked in all directions by the crowd.

The screaming woman screamed again, then flew at the mother and daughter. Everyone else scattered as a great wind got up around the frightened pair. The mother held her daughter in a suffocating grip, but all too soon the child was wrenched from her arms.

'Mommy!' Livvy cried, as she was whisked into the air, despite her mother's best efforts to stop it.

'No!' the mother yelled, snatching at the empty space in front of her. 'LIVVY!'

* * *

The Ecto-1 pulled into the firehouse, and the four Ghostbusters piled out. They were all stained in various places with a viscous liquid, and Kylie was carrying a full ghost trap.

'Well,' said Garrett, 'that wasn't so bad. Just like spending the morning with Slimer.'

'But better,' said Eduardo, 'because you get to trap it at the end.'

'I'll put it in the containment unit, Kylie,' Roland said, holding out his hands for the trap.

'Great,' said Kylie, giving it to him. 'And while you're gone, we'll decide who gets first shower.'

' _Shower_?' someone said aggressively, and the foursome turned to see a familiar and unwelcome figure striding towards them. 'For crying out loud – you don't have time for a shower!'

For a moment, no one knew what to say. Then Kylie said, 'Hi, Jensen.'

'We never touched the mayor, dude,' said Garrett. 'Whatever it is, we were at the Brooklyn Museum the whole time.'

'That's just the problem!' said Jensen. 'Why weren't you at Grand Central Station, huh? _Huh_?'

'All right, Mr Jensen, that's enough,' said Janine, stepping in front of the irate executive. 'They were on a call, but now they're back, so we'll handle it.'

'Well,' said Jensen, 'you'd better! The mayor is _very_ upset about this! What do you think he's going to say to all the distraught parents out there?'

'Distraught parents?' said Roland. 'What's happened?'

'Some kind of monster has been kidnapping children at Grand Central,' said Janine, and the four Ghostbusters all uttered sounds of shocked surprise.

'Oh, good, you're here,' Egon said, appearing on the staircase across the room. 'You're just in time for the press conference.'

* * *

Egon, Janine, Roland, Kylie, Garrett, Eduardo, Slimer and Jensen all stood or sat around the TV and watched as Mayor McShane, perspiring visibly and blinking against an onslaught of camera flashes, did his best to answer the questions that were being hurled at him.

'What's being done to recover the children?' a woman's voice yelled.

'Everything that can be done, _is_ being done,' the mayor replied. 'We have every state-enrolled official working tirelessly to remedy this situation.'

'What exactly does this monster want with them?' a male voice asked.

'Good grief, man,' said McShane, sweating even more profusely, ' _I_ don't know!'

Jensen winced. 'Don't say that!'

'How do we know this monster story is true?' asked another female voice.

'There have been hundreds of eyewitness accounts,' said McShane, 'but there is absolutely no guarantee that those people saw what they thought they saw. We're looking into all possibilities.'

' _What_ possibilities?' someone shouted.

'Yeah!' someone else cut in, before McShane had a chance to answer. 'Since when do you blame stuff like this on monsters? What's _really_ going on here?'

'No further questions, please,' said the mayor, attempting to back away, but finding himself impeded by swarms of people with cameras and microphones.

'Don't leave now!' cried Jensen. 'They'll think you don't have a clue what's going on!'

'Hey now, come on,' said Garrett. 'It's no more obvious than usual that he doesn't have a clue what's going on.'

'Why aren't you keeping an eye on him, Jensen?' asked Kylie.

'Because,' said Jensen, turning away from the television screen, 'my job right now is to keep an eye on _you_ people. The mayor is relying on you to clean up this mess.'

'How come he didn't mention us just now?' asked Garrett.

'The mayor would never endorse us publicly, Garrett,' said Roland.

'You're right,' said Jensen. 'He still _says_ you're a group of psychotic vigilantes, but he knows by now that there _are_ ghosts and demons out there, and that's why I'm here: to tell you, on behalf of the mayor, that if you don't get those kids back you'll be very sorry.'

'Nice guy, your boss, isn't he?' said Garrett.

'Obviously we'll get the kids back if we can,' said Eduardo. 'I mean, we don't have any idea if they... what happened to them.'

'True,' said Egon, who was still watching the TV screen, 'but let's remain optimistic for the time being. It doesn't look like this news report is going to be much help. You'd better get to Grand Central Station immediately.'

'Obviously,' said Garrett. 'What are we sitting around watching the news for? Let's go!'

'You don't want to take those showers first?' asked Janine.

'We don't have time for that, Janine,' said Roland. 'Anyway, it's raining out.'

'What luck,' Eduardo muttered, as he followed Roland and Kylie to the pole.

* * *

The Ghostbusters got out of the Ecto-1 and stood, slime-free and dripping rain, on East 42nd Street and looked across the road at Grand Central Station.

'I've never seen this place so deserted,' said Garrett. 'We'll probably find the demon has moved on, if it's driven everyone away.'

'Is that your idea of being optimistic?' said Kylie. 'We can make a start here, anyway. Come on.'

She began leading the way into the station building, marching confidently across the deserted road. As a result, she was almost run over by a taxi as it screeched to a halt; Eduardo had to grab her shoulder and pull her out of its path. A moment later Jensen got out of the taxi, and said through the window to the driver, 'I need a receipt. This is city business.'

'So,' said Garrett, 'you're _actually_ going to keep an eye on us?'

'Are you sure you want to be here, man?' said Eduardo. 'You know, with the demon and all.'

'Of course I do,' said Jensen, hurling some money at the cab driver and accepting his receipt without a word of thanks. 'I'm not a child, am I? It's not interested in anyone over the age of... I don't know, twelve? Anyone older than that, it just scares them.'

'It sort of sounds like you've seen it, Jensen,' said Garrett.

'I've done my research,' said Jensen. 'You don't get to work directly under the mayor of New York City without using your initiative. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get in there!'

So saying, he sprinted off towards the station. The four Ghostbusters exchanged a puzzled look, then pursued their self-appointed companion at a more leisurely pace.

* * *

The station was not a quarter so busy as usual, but nor was it entirely deserted. A few important-looking people in business suits were wandering around the lobby, glancing at the departures boards and looking irritably at their watches.

The Ghostbusters were waving their PKE meters around when Jensen found them. He was still moving at a swift run, and had to skid to a stop in front of them to avoid a collision.

'Well?' he demanded.

'I'm getting a reading,' said Kylie.

'Well, that could mean anything!' said Jensen. 'Could you try being a little more specific?'

'Hey, man,' said Eduardo, 'do you wanna knock it off with the attitude?'

Jensen glared at him, and opened his mouth to reply, but Kylie cut off whatever he was going to say with, 'It's almost on top of us.'

'It is?' said Jensen, looking vaguely around him. 'Where?'

'As if on cue,' said Garrett, pointing, as the entity appeared screaming from one of the platforms with a dozen or so frightened people running before her.

Garrett got ready to shoot, but Roland put a hand on his arm and said, 'Wait – you might hit one of those people.'

'Do you wanna chase that thing all over the stupid station?' Garrett retorted. 'You gotta take your opportunities, Roland.'

'The guy's right,' an unfamiliar voice said, and they all turned to see that one of the impatient businessmen had approached them, briefcase in hand. 'Whenever a train comes in, she scares all the passengers away, and then she disappears until the next one comes.'

'There you are, you see?' said Jensen. 'What did I tell you?'

'You've been watching her?' Garrett asked the businessman, pointedly turning his back on Jensen.

The man shrugged, and said, 'I've just been waiting a long time, that's all, because my stupid train is delayed. I actually ran away from her the first time I saw her, but then she disappeared so I came back in, and the next time I saw her I didn't run. I figured she's harmless, and I was right. She hasn't actually _done_ anything to anybody.'

'That is not true!' said Jensen. 'That thing is a kidnapper!'

The man looked at him in surprise. 'A kidnapper?'

'You haven't seen it nap any kids?' asked Garrett.

'No,' said the man. 'It's a weekday. They're all at school, aren't they?'

'They _should_ be,' said Jensen. 'What were they doing here, anyway? The little ones, okay, but one of the moms was saying her ten year old was taken. I hope the school puts that down as an unauthorised absence!'

'Getting kidnapped, an unauthorised absence?' said Eduardo.

'Not the getting kidnapped, you idiot!' snapped Jensen. 'Their being here in the first place!'

'Jensen,' said Kylie, with a scowl, 'you're _really_ going to have to stop yelling at us, okay?'

'Finally!' the businessman said, looking up at one of the departures boards, as a female voice uttered something over the intercom in the background. 'My train's coming in. She'll be scaring the people getting off, so you'd better be ready. Gotta run!'

He ran. Moments later, a swarm of people came screaming into the station lobby, tripping over each other and pushing past each other in their efforts to get away. This time Jensen and the four Ghostbusters were in the path of retreat, and they had to get out of the way very quickly, because those people were fast. The lobby was soon all but deserted once again.

'Now?' Garrett asked, as the last people were lost to view, and the entity doubled back with the apparent intention of disappearing into the ceiling.

'Now,' Roland agreed, and all four Ghostbusters fired. They contained the entity quickly and efficiently, and Kylie reached behind her for the ghost trap.

'Wait!' Jensen shouted, making a grab at Kylie's arm, the word barely audible above the sound of proton fire and the screaming demon.

'You don't have to touch me!' Kylie yelled back, frowning at his hand on her gloved wrist. 'What is it?'

'What about the kids?' asked Jensen. 'We don't know what she did with them!'

'He has a point, guys!' Roland shouted above the noise. 'We must save the children!'

'So let's trap her already!' Eduardo shouted. 'Maybe they'll just, like, reappear!'

'Worth a try!' yelled Garrett. 'Kylie, throw the trap already!'

Kylie shook off Jensen's hand, threw down the trap and opened it. The entity was sucked inside; the trap smoked a little, and all was quiet.

No children appeared.

'It didn't work!' said Jensen, as Kylie went to retrieve the trap. He looked at her a moment, then looked round for somebody else, and found Garrett. 'Why,' he said, grabbing the front of Garrett's clothing and shaking him, 'didn't it _work_?'

'Hey!' said Garrett, pushing him off, just as Eduardo and Roland each grabbed an arm. As such, Jensen came away very easily, and found himself having to shake the two men off his elbows.

'All right, all right, I'm sorry,' he said, adjusting his jacket. 'It's just that... what can you do _now_? You can let her out, right? You have to! She's the only one who knows what happened to the kids!'

'We're not letting her out here,' said Kylie, hugging the trap to her chest. 'If we get her back to the firehouse, then we can talk to her while she's in a containment field – you know, guys, like we did with the brownies – and then maybe –'

'Why would she tell you anything?' Jensen demanded. 'What's in it for her? You're not going to torture it out of her, I bet. You're not going to promise her freedom and then contain her anyway.'

'I can see why you're a politician, Jensen,' said Garrett.

'You'll have to let her out,' said Jensen. 'Oh my gosh, look, there's a kid – we can follow her and see where she takes him!'

'No way!' said Garrett.

'Out of the question,' said Roland.

'Yeah, man,' said Eduardo. 'What's _wrong_ with you?'

'Nothing is wrong with me,' said Jensen. 'The mayor, he, he... he's getting away!'

This statement was puzzling enough to make all the Ghostbusters turn to see whom Jensen was referring to. It was the little boy, heading with his father to one of the platforms. Kylie opened her mouth to say something, but Jensen was too quick for her. In the split second that she was off her guard, he wrested the trap from her arms, and whatever she was going to say turned into a shout of anger and surprise.

Upon hearing this, Eduardo took a menacing step towards Jensen, but Roland put a restraining hand on his arm and said, 'Now, Jensen, that's going too far. I'm going to have to ask you to –'

'For Pete's sake,' yelled Garrett, 'get that trap off him, _now_!'

But it was too late. Jensen had found the right button, and suddenly the entity was swooping and screaming around them with such force that they had to cover their ears and close their eyes against a powerful wind.

'Behind you!' Jensen yelled at her. 'A kid!'

'Jensen!' cried everyone, horrified, as the entity turned in the direction of Jensen's pointing finger. She took in the sight of the man and the little boy, and then she turned back towards her quintet of tormentors.

'Blast her again!' said Garrett, as the entity began to fly towards them. 'Jensen, give me the trap!'

But there was no time for Jensen to give Garrett the trap even if he wanted to. In the shortest of moments the entity had swooped down, grabbed Garrett by the shoulders and plucked him out of his chair. He cried out in terror as she carried him off.

'GARRETT!' yelled Roland, trying to run after them, but coming back when he realised that they had flown out of sight. When he rejoined the scene, Kylie was snatching the trap back from Jensen and Eduardo was glaring at him, his arms folded across his chest and his jaw set with strong, silent rage.

'All right, guys, don't panic,' Roland said, putting one hand on Eduardo's shoulder and taking out his PKE meter with the other. 'We'll find him.'

* * *

Garrett, meanwhile, was being carried into the depths of a dark cupboard. He let out a cry of protest as he was dropped, and landed heavily on a pile of mops, buckets and other cleaning paraphernalia. He took a moment or two to recover, then manoeuvred himself into a sitting position and found the entity staring him right in the face.

'Who are you?' she demanded, in harsh and feral tones. 'What do you want?'

'Listen, lady,' said Garrett, 'you're on my patch now. So, who are _you_ , and what do _you_ want? What did you do with the kids?'

'Oh,' the entity replied, 'so you want to see the children?'

'Well, yeah.'

'But of course you must see the children,' she said, her voice changing abruptly and becoming sickly sweet. 'We shall raise them as our own, my love. Kiss me!'

She moved her head towards Garrett's, and he blinked in surprise.

'I, I, don't want to.'

'Yes you do...'

'I do not!' said Garrett, knocking over buckets and bottles with his elbows he tried to wrestle her away from him.

'Yes,' said the entity, her voice beginning to take on its harsh quality once again, 'you _do_!'

As she said this, her eyes glowed red and she opened her mouth to reveal a set of very sharp teeth. She then grabbed Garrett's head, jerked it to one side and made a lunge at his neck.

'Whoa!' said Garrett, trying to wriggle away from her. 'You're a _vampire_?'

The demon stopped what she was doing, leaned back to glare at him and said, 'No!'

'So what are you?' asked Garrett.

'That is not for mere mortals to know,' the demon said, and then went back to trying to bite his neck. Garrett, however, was not going down without a fight. He reached behind him, grabbed a mop and hurled the hard end at the demon's head. If this didn't hurt her, then it certainly surprised and angered her. She roared, picked up the broom, snapped it in two and hurled the pieces at Garrett. He lowered his head and put up his hands to shield his face.

'Why can't you just give in to my feminine wiles like the rest of them?' she roared.

'Because,' said Garrett, 'I know what you are!'

'No you don't!'

'Yes I do! You're an ugly old vampire whose breath smells like a cross between toilets and death!'

At this, the demon screamed and melted into thin air. Garrett stared in amazement at the darkness where she had stood, until suddenly the cupboard was flooded with light. He had to squint and hold his hand up against the glare. In the doorway, of course, stood his three teammates and Jensen.

'Great timing, you guys,' Garrett said, as Roland offered him his chair and he began to climb into it. 'I'd have been dead by now if I hadn't figured out a way to get rid of her.'

* * *

'Okay,' said Kylie, once they were back at the firehouse, and she was on the couch with a book in her lap. Eduardo, Roland, Garrett, Egon and Jensen had gathered around her to listen. 'It looks like we're dealing with a demon called Empusa. She was the daughter of Hecate, a goddess of the Underworld, and she'd scare travellers on the road to her mother's lair to keep them away.'

'So what's she doing here?' asked Eduardo. 'This Hecate chick isn't in New York.'

'You don't know that,' said Kylie. 'It also says that she'd disappear if she was insulted, so that definitely fits.'

'It sure does,' said Garrett. 'I insulted her good. What about the neck-biting?'

'Well,' said Kylie, 'Empusa is possibly one of the Lilin, or a close relative, and they like using their feminine wiles on guys and then draining their veins of blood.'

'None of this matters!' said Jensen. 'What about the kids?'

' _Well_ ,' Kylie said again, rather impatiently, 'legend has it that Empusa's children were killed by the goddess Hera, so she kidnapped other children because she was jealous of the joy they gave to their mothers. I guess maybe that's why she didn't care about that boy being with his father.'

'It doesn't matter about that,' said Jensen. 'What did she _do_ with them?'

'Well,' said Kylie, and then she bit her lip.

'Tell us, Kylie,' said Roland.

'Well,' Kylie said again, 'it says here that she eats them.'

A collective gasp went through the group.

'No!' said Roland.

'That's gotta be wrong, man!' said Eduardo.

'Well,' said Garrett, 'she did imply that the kids were alive, but she could've easily been lying...'

'Jensen,' said Egon, which made the four younger Ghostbusters look up. 'Are you all right?'

'It can't be true,' whispered Jensen, not blinking, his lips barely moving as he spoke.

'Now listen, all of you,' said Egon. 'Until we know the absolute truth, let's not –'

'JENSEN!' an angry voice cut in, and everyone looked round.

* * *

Somewhere in a dark place, a dozen or so children were waking up on a hard floor. The small ones started to cry, with the exception of Livvy from Grand Central Station, who got to her feet and said furiously, 'What's going on here?'

'So now,' said the voice of Empusa, and the creature herself emerged from the darkness with a little boy in her arms. 'You've woken up. My powers must be diminishing in this place. I shall have to find some sustenance.'

'Where _are_ we?' Livvy asked irritably.

'It is the Underworld, my dear,' Empusa said, grinning toothily.

'What are you going to do with us?' demanded a boy of about eight years.

'Why, take care of you,' the demon said, 'for my very own.'

'Really?' asked Livvy, looking dubiously round at her companions. 'All of us?'

'Well,' said the demon, baring her razor sharp teeth, 'perhaps not every single one. Here's a new member of the family,' and she dumped the small boy at her feet. 'You don't have to worry, my dears. I was a good mother before, and shall be again. Better than your _real_ mothers, dragging you all over the land and tiring you out. You are very tired, children, aren't you?'

Apparently, all of the children _were_ tired, for at once they started going to sleep again. Once they had all gone under, Empusa stooped to lift the chin of the boy she had just dropped at her feet. He snuffled, yawned and murmured something, indicating that he was not as deeply asleep as his captor would have liked. She looked thoughtfully at the other children for a moment, went to lean over one of the bigger ones and opened her mouth. Then she closed it again, and vanished.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the firehouse, a red-faced Mayor McShane was glaring at Jensen from the top of the stairs. Janine was behind him, and Slimer was above him, dripping slime onto his head.

'Oh,' bristled McShane, whirling round to face Janine, 'will you get _rid_ of that thing?'

'Mr Mayor,' said Janine, gently shooing Slimer away, 'I must ask you to amend your tone. Egon,' she went on, peering around McShane's body, 'I'm really sorry about this. I told him Jensen was here because I didn't know it was supposed to be a secret.'

'Neither did I,' said Egon. 'Mr Mayor, we were under the impression that Jensen was here on your orders.'

' _What_?' screeched McShane. 'Jensen, what is the meaning of this? Where were you at the press conference this morning? And where were you when I had to figure out, I mean, go over what I'm supposed to say for this stupid classical music thing tomorrow? And where were you –?'

'I was here, sir,' said Jensen. 'And then I was at Grand Central Station. And now I'm here again.'

'But _why_? You know these people are –'

'No,' said Jensen, 'they are not! They saved you from that Piper person, didn't they? And the little green man? And now, Mr Mayor, those kids _have_ to be recovered!'

'Hey wait a minute, you guys, knock it off,' Garrett said suddenly. 'What exactly is going on here?'

'Pay attention, Garrett,' said Kylie. 'Jensen knew we were the only ones who could stop this thing, so he came to us behind the mayor's back.'

'But that doesn't seem like something Jensen would do,' said Garrett.

'Yeah, well,' said Jensen, 'I _did_ do it, didn't I? You don't know me!'

'He's right, Gar,' said Eduardo. 'Lot about him we don't know.'

'But _I_ know you, Jensen!' said the mayor, still red with anger. 'What were you _thinking_? Didn't you think about my reputation at _all_?'

Then suddenly Jensen broke like rocks before a waterfall. His eyes filled with tears, and he cried out, 'It got Livvy!'

There was a moment's silence. Then McShane said, 'Who?'

Jensen frowned at him. 'Olivia.'

'Who?'

'My daughter, you stupid jerk! You met her just over a year ago, at the office Christmas party, and now she's been kidnapped by some, some, some _Lilin_ or something, and finding her is my absolute top priority. I'm prioritising my workload, sir. You understand.'

'Yes,' said McShane, completely cowed. 'Of course. Jensen, I... I'm so sorry!'

Kylie, meanwhile, had moved to where Garrett was sitting, and was saying close to his ear, 'I feel really bad now for saying the demon had maybe eaten the kids.'

'Well,' said Garrett, 'you should.'

'I _do_!'

The phone rang downstairs, and Janine went to answer it.

'I should say something to Jensen,' said Kylie. 'Garrett, what should I say?'

'I don't know,' said Garrett. 'Just tell him that most legends are a lot of baloney.'

'But they aren't – not most of them.'

'They do get things wrong, though. Exaggerate.'

'All right,' said Kylie, and she took a step towards Jensen. 'Jensen, I'm really sorry about your daughter. And what I read... there's no guarantee that it's true. In fact there's a fair... I mean, a very good chance it's not. Legends really aren't that reliable.'

'I know that,' Jensen said reasonably, 'and it doesn't matter what's in that book anyway. I just need to find out what's happened to her... to _them_. All the kids' parents do.'

As he spoke, Janine reappeared at the top of the stairs.

'We found your demon, guys,' she said. 'It's moved on to JFK Airport.'

'Makes sense,' said Roland. 'Plenty of travellers there. Let's go.'

'You coming, man?' Eduardo said invitingly to Jensen.

'Yes,' said Jensen. 'Please. And, um... do we have a plan?'

'Oh,' said Garrett, 'we'll think of something. We always do.'

'And we're not coming back until Empusa is dealt with,' said Kylie. 'That's a promise.'

* * *

'Question for you, Jensen,' said Garrett, now back in the Ecto-1 with Jensen between him and Eduardo. 'Why didn't you just tell us? I mean, dude, you _know_ that would've been better than all the yelling and snatching.'

'Hey, man, leave the guy alone,' said Eduardo. 'If he don't wanna talk about it, he don't wanna talk about it.'

'No, he's right,' said Jensen. 'If I'd just told you the truth in the first place, then maybe I wouldn't have acted the way I did. I guess I'm just touchy about Olivia.'

'You don't have to tell us anything, man,' said Eduardo, beginning to look uncomfortable.

'I was a lousy husband,' Jensen went on, 'and now I'm a lousy father too. I was only going to take the afternoons off while Livvy was staying with me, and dump her in daycare in the mornings. It's the mayor – he can't do anything without me. Or maybe he can. He's a grown man. Livvy's the one I _should_ be running round after. She's just...' His voice started to crack. 'She's just a little girl!'

'Um,' said Garrett, wriggling in his chair away from Jensen. 'You're... not gonna cry, are you?'


	2. Chapter 2

Janine was at her desk with the telephone receiver in her hand, recording an answer phone message.

'You have reached the Ghostbusters. If you're calling about the recent ectoplasmically-based kidnappings, please be assured that we are already working to resolve this issue. If you are calling about something else, leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.'

When she'd finished, Janine slammed down the receiver and said, ' _That_ should give me a few minutes' peace.' She then turned to her computer and typed something. A moment later, however, she looked up and frowned at something across the room. It was Mayor McShane, pacing around and mopping his brow.

'Don't you have someplace else to be?' Janine asked.

'I don't want to be _anywhere_ ,' said McShane. 'Everyone's on my back about these missing kids. It's not _my_ fault!'

'No one's saying it is,' said Janine, frowning. 'People are looking to you, their mayor, for support.'

'But, Miss Melnitz, what am I supposed to _say_?'

'You could say that the Ghostbusters are handling it.'

'But you don't know what actually happened to the kids,' said McShane. 'Do you?'

Janine sighed, her expression softening, and said, 'No.'

'What if... you know... they're not okay?'

'Do you care because you care, or are you worried about losing Jensen and ruining your career?'

'What?' said McShane, looking genuinely horrified. 'What kind of a question is _that_?'

'I'm sorry,' said Janine, 'but you don't exactly come across as a caring employer.'

'I _am_ a caring employer!' said McShane. 'Just because I'm not weeping all over Jensen's shoulder and telling him I love him, that doesn't mean I don't care.'

'You don't have to weep on his shoulder,' said Janine, 'and you certainly don't have to tell him you love him. You just have to... oh, here, watch me. SLIMER!'

At once, Slimer phased in through the ceiling and floated in front of Janine, attentive and smiling.

'Thank you for coming to see me this afternoon, Slimer,' Janine said, in such patronising tones that Slimer could only stare at her, puzzled. 'I just want to ask if you're completely satisfied in your position working for this company.'

'Aha, aha!' Slimer said, nodding vigorously. Then, to prove it, he gave Janine a slimy hug.

'You could try talking to it about personal space,' said McShane, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

'Shut up,' said Janine, 'I'm not finished.' She looked at Slimer. 'Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about, Slimer? Nothing we could do to make you a little happier?'

'Well...' said Slimer. He looked thoughtful, then suddenly he descended into incomprehensible babble, gesticulating wildly and beginning to look rather angry.

'I see,' said Janine, nodding with an expression of deep understanding.

'You understand that?' said McShane.

'Some of it,' said Janine. 'He says he feels like he gets sidelined by other members of the team, and there's never enough to eat. Right, Slimer?'

'Right!' said Slimer, well worked up by this point.

'So,' said Janine, 'what I think we should do now, Slimer, is have you and the mayor talk about these issues in a professional environment, and come up with a solution. Sound good?'

'Yeah!' said Slimer.

'No!' said McShane.

'Remember, Slimer,' said Janine, getting up out of her chair, 'best voice, okay? Use your words.'

'Okay, Janine!' said Slimer, and he flew with wild enthusiasm towards McShane, who cringed away from him with an expression of absolute horror on his face.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Janine pushed back her chair and went to find Egon. He was sitting at his own computer, typing at a hundred miles and hour and occasionally stopping to look at what was on his monitor.

'Still trying to find out what happened to the kids?' Janine said gently, slipping her arms around his shoulders.

'Pointless activity,' said Egon, dropping his hands onto his lap. 'Even if my database could offer an alternative explanation to that book, who's to say it would be right? The only thing we can do is wait to find out.'

* * *

The four Ghostbusters, with Jensen at their heels, found John F. Kennedy Airport very much as they had found Grand Central Station: all but deserted, with just a few people milling around. It was eerily quiet, but for the hum of a large woman polishing a machine at her coffee stand.

'So what do we do now?' asked Jensen.

'Well,' said Roland, looking at his PKE meter, 'it can't be long before the next flight comes in, and then our demon is sure to show up. Once she does, then maybe she'll lead us to the kids when she's done scaring people.'

'And what do we do in the meantime?' said Jensen. 'Just wait?'

'I could use a coffee,' said Eduardo, and he approached the coffee stand.

'I was just about to close up!' the large woman greeted him loudly. 'I got no customers! I got coffee, I got milk, I got sugar, I got low fat sweetener, I got hot water, I got cups and I got stirring sticks, but I got no customers! That monster keeps scaring them away!'

'But you're not scared of it?' asked Garrett, as he and the others gravitated towards Eduardo and the coffee stand.

'It's mostly just a noise-maker,' the coffee woman said. 'Apart from the poor child it took, heaven help him! I'd help if I could, but I can't, so why should I stay here if I can't help and I got no customers? I'm going to Walgreens – they got bonus loyalty points if I spend thirty dollars on cosmetics.' She looked at Kylie. 'You can save big if you go stock up on that makeup, honey.'

'Maybe I will,' said Kylie. 'Could you get us some coffees first, please?'

'Sure, sure,' said the woman, and she set about preparing five coffees. 'What are you kids doing here, anyway? And what you got those guns for? Do you want to be arrested?'

'No, we don't want to be arrested, lady,' said Eduardo.

'We're Ghostbusters,' said Roland. 'We're after the monster. Can you tell us anything about it, like where it goes when it disappears, maybe?'

'It goes everywhere,' said the woman.

'You mentioned a kid,' said Garrett. 'Where did it go when it took the kid?'

'That way, I think,' the woman said, pointing vaguely. 'Yes, that's right. Now, what's in that direction? Cargo airport, bank, medical centre, all kinds of places for car rental... 7-Eleven, if you go far enough. They got a lot of specials on right now. Buy five coffees, get one free. But my coffee is better.' She thrust the five paper cups towards them. 'Twelve dollars fifty.'

The Ghostbusters all looked helplessly at each other, and then at Jensen. Jensen sighed, got out his wallet and produced a credit card.

'I can't take that,' said the woman. 'I got no card reader. I got money till, I got cash bags, I got –'

'All right, all right,' said Jensen, and started fishing around in his wallet for cash. While he was distracted, the Ghostbusters took their coffees and got into a huddle.

'All right,' said Garrett, 'so should we wait around for her to come and scare the next passenger plane, or should we go looking in 7-Eleven and the bank and whatever else that lady said?'

'Both,' said Kylie. 'We'll pair off.'

'But there's five of us,' said Eduardo, glancing over Garrett's shoulder at Jensen.

'Jensen can look for the kids with me,' said Roland. 'Does anyone else want to come with us?'

'No thanks,' said Garrett. 'I like kids, but in spite of everything I still don't like Jensen.'

'There should be two Ghostbusters,' said Kylie, then left the comment hanging in the air.

'I'll do it,' said Eduardo.

'Okay, good,' said Kylie. 'You guys had better get another trap from the Ecto-1. Garrett, looks like you and me are plane-spotting.'

* * *

A short while later Roland, Eduardo and Jensen were walking along Cargo Plaza, the two Ghostbusters staring fixedly at their PKE meters while Jensen carried the trap with only his fingertips, looking very distrustful of it.

* * *

Garrett and Kylie, meanwhile, were waiting at a baggage claim area with nothing to do but watch people picking up bags from a conveyor belt. They had to spring into action, however, when the familiar sound of hysterical screaming met their ears.

'There she is!' said Kylie. 'Come on!'

She ran, and Garrett shot after her, making very good speed until he found himself about to plough down a large group of frightened plane-goers with his chair. He turned abruptly, skidded to a halt and managed not to injure himself or anyone else. In the same instant he heard Empusa's roar, and looked up to see her zooming about above everyone's heads like the Wicked Witch of the West. Without losing a moment he unsheathed his proton gun, aimed upwards and blew an enormous ceiling light to smithereens. There was a magnificent explosion, and the screams increased in volume as huge shards of glass rained down on the frightened crowd.

'GARRETT!' Kylie shouted reprovingly, and Garrett turned towards her voice. His eyes found her just in time to see her apparently mown down by half the crew of the _Enterprise_.

'Oh my gosh!' cried Garrett, and began bullying his way through the crowd, sending people scattering in all directions until he reached Kylie. 'Holy heck, Kylie, are you okay?'

'I'm fine,' Kylie said, looking a little dishevelled but mostly just irritated as she climbed to her feet, leaning on Garrett's wheelchair for support. 'Well, apart from the indignity of being trampled by _Star Trek_ fans. There must be some kind of convention going on or something.'

'Losers,' said Garrett. 'How can anyone can be so obsessed with a TV show? It's like, get a life!'

'Never mind about them, Garrett – we have to get after that demon!' said Kylie. 'Come on!'

The space had cleared by this time, and the demon was leaving. Kylie sprinted off after it, and Garrett followed.

* * *

'What do you know,' said Eduardo, staring at the building in front of him, at which the PKE meters were humming excitedly. 'We ended up at 7-Eleven after all.'

'So what now?' asked Jensen.

'We go inside,' said Roland, and he went inside.

'Oh my gosh!' said a young woman behind the till. 'Customers, finally! What can I do for you? If you buy five coffees, you can have a sixth free.'

'Thank you, miss, but we don't need coffee right now,' said Roland, letting his PKE meter lead him to a door in a far corner. 'We need to look at whatever's behind this door.'

'Well,' said the young woman, 'that's the basement. If don't know if I –'

'Mayor's orders,' said Jensen, shoving an ID card into the woman's face. 'We have reason to believe the missing children are down there.'

'Oh, well that's different,' the woman said, and came out from behind the counter with a set of keys. 'I heard about that on the radio. Gee, I sure hope they're alive.'

'We all hope so,' Roland said, as the woman unlocked the basement door. He then turned on the light and went down the stairs, ready to grab his proton gun if necessary. A moment later he relaxed his stance, and his whole body sagged with relief. At the bottom of the stairs, several children were picking themselves up off the floor and blinking against the sudden flood of light.

'They're here!' Roland called. 'And they're all right!'

'No! They are?' said Jensen, grabbing onto Eduardo's arm and making him look uncomfortable. 'I didn't dare to believe it! But... but this is the airport. Are the Grand Central kids here too?'

Eduardo shook Jensen off his arm, thrust his head and shoulders into the doorway and said, 'Is there an Olivia Jensen down there?'

'I'm Olivia Jensen,' a small voice said sleepily. 'What's going on?'

Jensen wobbled a little, and again had to grab hold of Eduardo. Then he called, 'Livvy!'

'Daddy?' the voice said incredulously. Moments later Olivia appeared in the doorway and stood staring at her father in utmost amazement. 'What are you doing _here_?'

'Looking for you, of course!' said Jensen, his eyes filling with tears as he lifted his small daughter into his arms.

'Where's Mom?' asked Olivia.

'Waiting back at the house, you little rascal, you. She's been a nervous wreck with worry.'

Eduardo turned discreetly away from the touching scene and went to join Roland in the basement, asking, 'Are they really okay?'

'They seem fine,' said Roland. 'Just kind of sleepy.'

A small boy tugged on Eduardo's T-shirt, and told him, 'She put a spell on us to make us sleep.'

'Figures,' said Eduardo. 'Otherwise you'd have figured a way out of here. Kids aren't as stupid as people think, right?'

'Right,' the little boy said with a grin.

'She said this was the Underworld,' said the boy of about eight who had questioned the demon earlier. 'How could we have found a way out of the Underworld?'

'It's not the Underworld,' said Roland. 'It's 7-Eleven, and your parents are coming to pick you up.'

'Golly,' said the checkout woman, appearing on the stairs behind Eduardo and Roland. 'You were right. How did they all get down here? I would have seen them!'

'It was a demon,' Eduardo told her. 'They can do all kinds of freaky stuff.'

'Oh,' the woman said.

'Now,' said Roland, 'we'd better call someone and make sure the missing kids really are all here, and let their parents know where to find them.'

'I can do that,' the checkout woman said, 'if you guys want to go and, I don't know, catch the ghost or whatever.'

'Let me,' said Jensen, poking his head round the door. 'I know exactly who to call.'

'Wonderful, Jensen, thank you,' said Roland, as he ascended the stairs and emerged into the better light of the 7-Eleven. Here he took out his walkie-talkie and said, 'Garrett? Kylie? We found the kids, and they're fine. Olivia's here, so we assume all the other Grand Central kids are here too.'

'That's great, Roland,' Kylie's voice came back to him, sounding very out of breath. 'Garrett and I are chasing Empusa. That girl can move!'

'Where are you?' asked Roland.

'The cargo airport,' said Kylie. 'On a runway. I don't know which one. I have to go – she's getting on a plane.'

* * *

Screaming and laughing hysterically, Empusa phased through the nose of a small cargo plane.

'We'll have to follow her on board,' said Garrett. 'No steps are out... oh, but look, the ramp for the cargo's down.'

'Handy,' said Kylie, as she followed Garrett to the back of the plane.

'It looks sort of steep,' he said. 'You'll have to give me a push.'

'Wow,' Kylie said, straining somewhat as she pushed Garrett's chair up the ramp. 'You're pretty heavy when we're going uphill without anyone to help me push.'

'Thanks, Kylie.'

'Okay.' Kylie exhaled heavily as she finished the upward journey. 'We're in the cargo hold, but she went in via the cockpit. So, can we get _out_ of the cargo hold?'

'Let's see,' said Garrett, trying a nearby door, which popped open easily. 'Hey, what do you know!'

'All right,' said Kylie, 'don't get too cocky. You never know what could go wrong.'

As if on cue, there came a series of bangs and crashes, and the plane's engines started up.

'Good one, Ky,' said Garrett. 'You jinxed it.'

'Oh no!' said Kylie. 'What do we do?'

'There's nothing we _can_ do,' said Garrett. 'They're taking off, and once we've trapped the demon, we can explain what happened and hope they'll drop us back in New York. If they won't, that's too bad, but we can't talk to the pilots yet because we'll never catch that thing if she knows we're here. She'll just vanish, and maybe she'll even go and steal children someplace else once she finds that Eduardo and Roland have gotten to her stash.'

'You want to trap her in this plane while it's flying?' said Kylie. 'That'll never work!'

'Why not?'

'Well, for one thing we can't fire our blasters when the plane's pressurised. You remember that, right?'

'Of course I do,' said Garrett. 'But we can use the trap, right?'

'Yes, Garrett,' said Kylie, sighing resignedly as she produced the said item from behind her back. 'We can use the trap.'

* * *

In the cockpit, Empusa was leaning over one of the two pilots with blood dripping from her teeth, smiling with satisfaction. She took a moment to lick her lips and savour the taste. Then suddenly the cockpit door burst open, and she looked up in alarm.

'You again,' the demon said, smiling evilly when she saw Garrett. 'Well, I'll have you now that my strength has returned. These two came under my spell easily enough, and now that I have feasted on their – AAAARGH!'

She screamed in frustration as Kylie popped up behind Garrett and opened the ghost trap. Empusa was sucked inside, and the trap closed with a satisfying clunk. In the same moment, Kylie threw the trap down, clambered over Garrett to get through the doorway and rushed over to the pilot seats.

'Sticking around to brag about your victory, huh?' Garrett said, looking triumphantly down at the trap over his shoulder. 'Classic mis–'

'Garrett!' said Kylie. 'Weren't you listening? Both these pilots came under her spell, she said, so she's been sucking their blood! They're _unconscious_!'

' _What_?' said Garrett, wheeling his way into the cockpit. 'They're not dead, are they?'

'They're still breathing,' said Kylie, who had taken off one glove and was holding her hand in front of the second officer's mouth.

'But not for long,' said Garrett. 'Not if she's been feeding on them. They're going to need medical attention, and fast.'

'Garrett,' said Kylie, 'what is _wrong_ with you? Why can't you see what's happening here? We're in midair, both the pilots are unconscious and there's no one else on board! We'll _all_ need medical attention soon, whether we've had our blood sucked or not!'

'Well, don't panic,' said Garrett. 'Look, it's on autopilot – we're okay for now.'

'What good is for now?' Kylie said shrilly, grabbing onto Garrett's shoulders and shaking him roughly. 'Garrett, what are we going to _do_?'

'For starters, don't pull an Eduardo on me,' said Garrett, putting his hands on Kylie's arms and gently releasing himself from her grip. 'Calm down, will you?'

'Right,' said Kylie, calming down at once. 'Don't pull an Eduardo. Okay, what now?'

'Now we call somebody on the radio and tell them to get an ambulance for these guys, and then someone will talk you through taking the plane back to the airport and landing it.'

' _What_?' Kylie went shrill again. 'Why do _I_ have to land the plane?'

'Because landing a plane requires feet,' said Garrett. 'Don't you ever watch TV?'

'This isn't TV!'

'It'll be fine. Look, I'll move the captain, and you sit in his chair.'

'Really?' Kylie looked down at the captain slumped over the controls. 'It's okay to move him?'

'He's had his blood sucked – there's no spinal injury,' said Garrett. 'It's fine. I'm a trainee physical therapist, remember? You can trust me on this.'

'Okay,' Kylie said, sounding anything _but_ okay as she slid into the captain's chair and Garrett dumped the unconscious man on the floor.

'Here goes,' Garrett said, locating the button for the radio and pressing it. 'Mayday, mayday, mayday.' He released the button and waited for a response. Looking at Kylie, he said, 'Lucky I know what to do, isn't it?'

'Shut up,' said Kylie, staring rigidly at the sky ahead.

* * *

Back on terra firma, Eduardo and Roland had arrived at the cargo airport. They were looking at their surroundings, and at their PKE meters, in utter confusion. Roland was on his walkie-talkie again, saying helplessly, 'Kylie? Garrett?'

'So where are they?' Eduardo demanded. 'It looks like they trapped the ghost and just wandered off! Why would they _do_ that, man?'

'I don't know, Eduardo,' said Roland, just as an ambulance sped onto the scene with sirens blazing. Two paramedics, a man and a woman, got out and approached the two Ghostbusters.

'Is this Runway 13L-31R?' the woman asked.

'I don't know,' said Roland. 'Sorry.'

'Well,' the man said, 'it better be, because if it is then some woman is landing a plane here with two unconscious pilots on board, and they're going to die if they don't get blood fast.'

' _What_?' said Roland.

'You gotta be kidding me!' Eduardo said, as a small cargo plane came wobbling into view overhead, its left wing drooping badly.

* * *

'Kylie,' said Garrett, looking over Kylie's shoulder at the attitude indicator. 'The plane's not level.'

'I know the plane is not level!' Kylie snapped.

'All right, Kylie,' said a calm and authoritative voice over the radio. 'Is the plane level?'

Kylie turned the yoke to the right, watched the diagram on the attitude indicator and then pressed the button on the radio.

'Of course the plane is level,' she said. 'What do I do now, Douglas?'

'You can begin the descent,' said Douglas. 'Pull back on the throttle until you hear the engines change. Then stop. The landing gear is fixed, so no need to worry about that. I'm going to talk you through slowing down the plane without losing lift.'

'Awesome,' Kylie said tonelessly. 'And when do I need to use my feet?'

'Your feet?' said Douglas, clearly puzzled by this question. 'Well, you'll apply the brakes after you touch down. Don't worry about that yet, Kylie.'

'So why am I doing _this_ part?' Kylie said, frowning massively at Garrett over her shoulder.

'Watch the sky, Ky,' said Garrett. 'You can yell at me when we're out of this.'

* * *

When the plane landed, with a series of alarming squeaks and lurches, Roland watched it with a pained expression. Eduardo could watch only through his fingers, and when the plane seemed like it might be about to careen off the runway, he had to turn away altogether. Only when three people ran past him with some steps on wheels did he dare to ask, 'Is it over?'

'Yes,' said Roland. 'You can look.'

Eduardo looked. The plane was parked at a strange angle, very near to the edge of the runway but still just about on it. The step-wheelers quickly and efficiently put their steps in place, and the two paramedics ran aboard the plane with all kinds of equipment that didn't seem to weigh them down at all.

A moment later, Kylie and Garrett appeared in the doorway. Eduardo and Roland ran up the steps to them. Kylie was clinging to the back of Garrett's chair and looking traumatised. Roland put his arm around her and said, 'It's over now, Kylie. You did great.'

'We're gonna have to get off these steps, guys,' said Garrett. 'We're blocking in the paramedics.'

Roland let go of Kylie and reached for Garrett's chair, but Garrett had already shot off on his own, so Roland returned his arm to Kylie's shoulders to steady her as she walked drunkenly down the steps. Eduardo brought up the rear, looking almost as traumatised as Kylie did.

'What's with you?' Kylie asked him, once she was safely on the ground and had pretty much recovered. 'You're not the one who just had to land a plane!'

'Yeah, well,' said Eduardo, 'watching it wasn't easy either.'

'I never knew you cared so much about me, Eddie,' said Garrett, smiling facetiously until Kylie smacked him on the arm.

'Why weren't you terrified?' she said.

'I'm never terrified,' Garrett said but, in the moment when the others turned to leave, he began to look a little sick all the same.

* * *

'Egon!' said Janine, surprising Egon as he came out of the bathroom by flinging her arms around him. 'The kids did it! They found the kids!'

'And they're all right?' asked Egon.

'Not a scratch on them, Roland says. You should have seen McShane's face – he's as relieved as anyone. Well, almost.'

'Is that because he can placate the public now?'

'Well,' said Janine, 'I wouldn't like to guess what the mayor is thinking.'

* * *

In an expensively furnished living room, Livvy's mother was holding her daughter and weeping onto her shoulder. Jensen stood by and watched until he heard a knock at the door. He went to answer it, and found himself looking at Mayor McShane, who was still a little slimy from his time at the firehouse.

'It's wonderful news, Jensen,' the mayor said, sounding embarrassed and looking at his feet. 'Now, how, er... how long did you say Olivia would be staying with you?'

'I said two weeks, sir,' said Jensen, 'but Sarah may want to take her home for a while now.'

'You should spend those two weeks with your daughter, Jensen,' said McShane, 'even if, um, Sarah takes her home. Go with them. Stay in a hotel if necessary. You can claim it on expenses. Up to a limit, of course. No frills.'

Jensen smiled a very small smile. 'Thank you, sir.'


End file.
